too old to learn programming?!

This is a discussion on too old to learn programming?! within the A Brief History of Cprogramming.com forums, part of the Community Boards category; I am teaching myself C and Python through e-books and paper books. I am 32ys old and wondering if employers ...

too old to learn programming?!

I am teaching myself C and Python through e-books and paper books. I am 32ys old and wondering if employers could care less about when I started and wondering how can I get experience to offer to employers. I am a proficient user of Mac and Linux OS and can do typical admin stuff for myself.

I know I need to do this, its too much fun and hope to make some money freelancing as well.

A lot of employers wont even consider you unless you have a degree AND experience - which makes it pretty dang hard to get your first programming job!

Freelancing is a good start to prove yourself with experience, but it'll require a lot of work to be ready. I wouldn't say your age is an obstacle - especially if you already understand how to use Linux, etc...

My advice is to practice. I learn a lot through books as well - but until I started making little programs to try stuff out myself, it really hurt my learning. Just pick little projects and work through it, and it'll help you target your learning best.

I didn't get my first 'programmer' job until I was in my 30's, although I had a lot of experience programming in 'non-programmer' jobs, e.g. I worked as an electrician and a controls engineer for many years, both positions involved programming PLC's and other manufacturing equipment, often in C/C++. Granted, I've been programmign as a hobby since I was 9 and I can discuss the specific details of just about every intel processor made, which went a long way to assuaging any concerns.

Until you can build a working general purpose reprogrammable computer out of basic components from radio shack, you are not fit to call yourself a programmer in my presence. This is cwhizard, signing off.

No, it is *never* too late to learn something. Granted, as you get older, most people get more set in their ways and have a little bit of a harder time bending your mind around something new. However, if you're willing to learn, then it's never too late.

The question is not if it's possible to learn programming at such an age (which of course it is), but rather how employers will look at a relatively old person with little to no professional programming experience.

I would say the best route is to get involved in open source projects, possibly creating your own project, so you have a portfolio of code to show to potential employers.